The 405 meets Aldous Harding: "I took acid and went to a church meeting."

Look, I know we told you that last week was Aldous Harding week, but we love the Kiwi folk musician so much that an album review, behind the scenes photos and going record shopping with her just didn’t seem enough.

So we got back in touch with Ms Harding to ask her a few questions; in person Hanna Harding is funny, honest and generous with her time and we hope this comes across in this interview - it is the second time in a few weeks I've bugged her with questions about her life and music...

So, Hanna, did you get that massive teddy bear you were looking for in Brighton during The Great Escape?
No, I did not.

When we spoke then, you were a bit down and missing your other half, Marlon [Williams]....how have things been since he joined you in the UK?

You're a musician yourself - clearly - but what's it like dating a musician (as a musician)? A lot of ego everywhere?
Ego for sure. But we're pretty good at keeping each other down. We don't let each other be too cool about things.

We spoke a little bit about how difficult it had been for you to write any new songs while you were in a happy frame of mind, in a relationship, so have you managed to overcome this and be more productive? Have you written any new material?
I've written two new songs since we last spoke. I'm happy with them. Turns out I just had to sit down and think about it.

We'd discussed your singing voice too and how that was a choice to fit the music (and thank you for demonstrating what 'Hunter' would sound like as a Kiwi pop song) but is the language a similar choice? It does feel out of time with the 21st century...
I've noticed my voice becoming stronger which is bringing out some nice tones I didn't know I had. Confidence is also growing which has left me with a less vulnerable sound which I feel good about. Still have a weird vibe going though.

Let's go back to when you were young...was music readily available? Was it a house filled with music?
Both my parents were heavily into the folk scene when I was growing up so yes, it was everywhere. Some of my earliest memories of music are of being at folk festivals or on the floor beside a jam session, hating it.

What do you remember first hearing and loving?
I can't remember his name but we had this amazing kids' album and it sort of became mine and my Mum's special CD. It was just full of sweet shit like 'I'm Gonna Mail Myself to You' and 'Don't Wanna Grow Up', stuff like that. It was pretty lovely. Mum said she remembers vividly me spinning around in the lounge in my fairy favourites to this stuff. My Dad recalls Rocky Horror Picture Show being a favourite when I was about five. 'I Can Make You a Man' was my jam apparently.

What's the first song you ever wrote - and does it still exist in some form?
Yes but like most first songs you keep them in a cool, well lit, sterile environment and pray it never gets out to hurt others.

Can you tell me a bit more about 'Stop Your Tears'? It's the first song on the album but the last you wrote, and with lyrics to do with never marrying, death and slaughter there's a certain finality to it....does the track signal the end of the darker period that the album documents?
It was supposed to be the worst and last song I wrote in that vein. I'd hoped it would serve as an offering to whatever held me for so long. Guess not!

Did writing the album help get you through?
It was a way for me to talk about being frightened without people thinking I was completely mental and desperate. I was looking for help with that shit constantly. I think it made people uncomfortable. I just turned it into poetry, guess it's ok if it's art.

There's a lot of religious imagery on the album, was that something in your life when you were growing up...or even now?
It was something that I considered in my later life. I took acid and went to a church meeting where they were all speaking in tongues and holding kids, to see if it would help...bring out something real and brave in me but, it didn't.

What are you listening to right now?
I'm listening to very little on tour because I lost my iPhone three days in. When I'm at home it's Connie Converse, Rowland S. Howard; 'Time of The Season' - Zombies is my shower song. I've been obsessing over a select few recently. That tends to be how I operate, destroy something with love and then go back to it in a few months to see if we still vibe.

Thank you, Hanna. We ended with a hug in Brighton so I'll imagine a virtual one this time.
VIRTUAL HUG BACK, LOVE YOUR WORK, THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING ME.